Environmental causes Flashcards
7 examples
Tabacco, weight/diet, Alcohol, UV, pesticides, oestrogens, solvents
how many substances are suspected/ known to cause cancer (2002)
228
what is the latent period
a fixed time between exposure and appearance of malignancy
what is the concept of age at expression
regardless of age at exposure, induced tumours will tend to be expressed at the same time as those which occur spontaneously
In 2015 how many deaths were due to tobacco in the UK
21% of all deaths
what % of cancer is caused by cigarette smoking
15%
2 carcinogens in cigarette smoke
Benzene and Acrolein
what increases the risk of mouth, voice box and oesophagus cancer in smokers
drinking more than 2 drinks/day (alcohol)
5 cancers strongly linked to being overweight/ physical inactivity
breast, endometrium, kidney, colon and oesophagus
what % of major cancers is accounted for by inactivity and obesity
25-30%
UV radiation and cancer
from sun, tanning beds etc… causes premature ageing of the skin and DNA damage that leads to melanoma
what does UV do to the DNA
it makes pyrimidine dimers form, causing a kink in the DNA, stalling replication, nucleotide excision repair used (but doesn’t always work)
what is the major carcinogenic wavelength
UVB 290-320
xeroderma pigmentosum (XP)
increased sensitivity to killing by UV radiation and UV-mimetic chemicals
what does classical XP exhibit
a defect in nucleotide excision repair
what is complete carcinogen
when it initiates and promotes activities
UVB effects on local and systemic immune function in skin
it dampens the immune system, decreasing immune response
how many ingredients in pesticides are found to be carcinogenic agents
at least 20
3 examples of banned pesticides
ethylene oxide, DDT and hexachlorobenzene
what cancers are caused by pesticides usually (7)
blood & lymphatic, lip, stomach, lung, brain, prostate and melanoma
HPV and cancer
causes cervical and anal cancer, women who have sex at 16 or many sexual partners are at increased risk
Hep B and C and cancer
major causes of liver cancer, risk factors are exposure to blood products, injection drug use and unprotected sex w many partners
EBV (epstein-barr) and cancer
linked to some lymphomas
Kaposi’s sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV) and cancer
linked to kaposi’s sarcoma and occurs through close person-to-person contact
oestrogens and cancer
HRT is linked to endometrial cancer, breast cancer and a reduction in colon cancer. taken in combo w progesterone can protect against risk
what is tamoxifen
a SERM used to prevent recurrence of ER+ breast cancer after treatment